Girdle or like garment



ii?! 4, 1956 E. c. CHAMPAGNE 2,772,417

GIRDLE OR LIKE GARMENT Filed March 1, 1954 O 2 Sheets-Sheet l ec. 4,1956 E. c. CHAMPAGNE 2,772,417

GIRDLE OR LIKE GARMENT Filed March 1, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR Mc. 4, 4 1; Y7 m ATTORNE Y5 GIRDLE OR LIKE GARMENT Emory C. Champagne,Woodbridge, onn., assignor to The Berger Brothers Company, New Haven,Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application March 1, 1954, Serial No.413,210

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-37) This invention relates to a girdle-type foundationgar merit such as a girdle or corset adapted to provide permanentsupport for certain portions of the body of the wearer as well ascomfort in use.

It is desirable that a garment of this type. be of relatively lightweight so that it may be worn with comfort and will not be bulky butalso will exert the necessary confining elfects on certain portions ofthe body with out inhibiting to an excessive extent the movements. ofthe wearer.

It is particularly desirable that a girdle or corset of this type besufficiently firm so that it will, properly confine and support theabdomen as well as the hips of the. wearer and will also be suflicientlyflexible, particularly at the upper and lower edges of thefront of thegarment, so that freedom of movement is permitted above the waist and atthe thighs so that the wearer may change: her posture withoutdiscomfort.

More particularly, one object of the invention is to provide a girdle orcorset having elastic panels at each side of the center front of thegarment which extend from the upper to the lower edge thereof whereinthe elastic panels are so constructed that they will provide greaterfreedom of movement adjacent the upper and lower edges: of the garmentat the front thereof than overthe abdominal portion and hips of thewearer. To effect this resultthe elastic panels at each side of thecenter front of the garment are provided of two-ply thickness except forsubstantially triangular areas adjacent the center front of the garmentat the upper and lower edges thereof where the elastic sections are ofsingle-ply. material so as to give greater freedom of movement. to. thebody over these areas.

A further object of the inventionis to provide a corset or girdle ofrelatively light weight having. boning. to give proper support andstiffness to the garment wherein pockets of novel construction areprovided to. receive the bones or flexible stiffening members.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a light weightgirdle or corset having hose supporters. of improved form securedthereto, and other features of construction adding to the appearance aswell as the strength and durability of the garment.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features andcombinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a corset or girdle embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing the position of the garment on thebody of the wearer;

Fig. is a front elevational view with the front of the garment beingbroken away to show the interior construction;

Fig 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View on line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 77 of Fig. 4;

nited States Patent 0 Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 88 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 4; and

Fig, 10 is a rear elevational view of one of the hose supporters showingits attachment to the garment.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, I have shown inthe drawings a garment or corset cornprising a front section designatedgenerally by the numeral Iii and a. rear section designated generally bythe numeral 11.. These sections are secured together by suitablestitching along lines 12 and 1.3 so as to form a tubular body-encirclinggarment. It will be understood that while the lines 12 and 13 formingthe juncture of the two sections are generally at the sides of thegarment and under the arms of the wearer, it will not be understood thatthe front and back sections are necessarily equal in area as in practiceone may be of slightly greater extent in its horizontal dimension thanthe other.

The front section It) of. the garment is composed of a centralnon-elastic panel 14 and elastic panels 15 and 16 at each side of thecentral panel. As shown, each of these panels extends from top to bottomof the garment, and the elastic panels are suitably joined to thecentral panel 14 along the substantially vertical lines 1'7 and lb. Thecentral non-elastic panel may be provided with a zippered opening 19and. may also be provided with relatively light, flexible bonesZO and 21extending from the top of the garment to a position at or below theabdominal portion of the body.

One important feature of the garment is the construe tion. of theelastic panels 15 and 16. As these are of identical construction,description. of one thereof will suflicc for both. As. shown in Figs. 1,5 and 6, each of these panels consists of two layers or plies of elasticmaterial. The outer ply 22 (Fig. 6) extends over the entire area of thepanel so as to provide a continuous exterior surface. Below or withinthis outer elastic ply 22' is an inner ply 23;

This inner ply 23} is of the same extent. lengthwise as the outer plyadjacent its outer edge so that the elastic panelsare of two-plythickness from top to bottom over the hip. portions of the. garmentadjacent the outer edges of the two panels. Adjacent the forward edgesof the panels, however, the inner plies or pieces of elastic materialare cut away along lines inclined to the vertical, as shown at 24 and25, so as. to leave areas of. substantially triangular shape 26 and 27'adjacent the central panel 14 at the upper and lower edges of thegarment.

The areas 26. of single-ply thickness of elastic material at the upperedge of the garment extend from the top of the garment to a point belowthe waistline, the

latter being approximately indicated by the numeral 28.

so as to give freedom of movement above the waistline andexpansion. ofthe garmentwhen the wearer is chang ing from a standing to a sittingposture, for example. It may be noted that the lines 24 and 25 are notstraight, but extend along a slight curve, this curve being somewhatconcave toward the center panel of the garment. At the same time thefact that the line 24 between the sections of two-ply and single-plythickness is inclined to the vertical and is somewhat curved, bulging ofthe flesh between these portions of the elastic panels will beprevented, which bulging is apt to occur if there is a horizontal lineof demarcation between the more strongly and the less stronglyreinforced or controlled areas and particularly if this is a straightline. Thus the more strongly reinforced areas are in the same horizontalzone as those less strongly reinforced to exert a proper confininginfluence but at the same time permit expansion and freedom of movement.

Similarly the lines 25 joining the portion of two-ply thickness of theelastic panels to the portions 27 of singleply thickness are alsoinclined and extend downwardly and outwardly from the centralnon-elastic panel 14. As the line of demarcation 25 between the morestrongly and less strongly reinforced elastic sections is inclined,beginning slightly above the groin line of the wearer, it allows freedomof movement of the limbs, but at the same time affords a properconfining influence on the hips and below the hips. At the same timebulging of the flesh is prevented over the areas 27 due to the fact thatthere is no horizontal or straight line of demarcation between the morestrongly and less strongly confining portions of the garment. The innerplies 23 are stitched to the outer plies 22 along the lines 24 and 25 aswell as along their outer edges so that the two plies will lie flatlytogether under all conditions.

The back section of the garment, shown more particularly in Figs. 2 and4, is formed of inelastic material similar to that of the central frontpanel 14. This sec tion of the garment is provided with a pair ofrelatively long, flexible stiffening members or bones 30 and 31, and aplurality of relatively short, very light bones 32 are provided adjacentthe center of the back section to prevent rolling over or collapsing ofthe top of the garment. Similarly relatively light weight bones 33 areprovided adjacent the side edges of the back section and other bones 34are provided at the meeting edges of the back and front sections.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 4, 7 and 8, a bone pocket of novelconstruction is provided for the reception of the flexible stiffeningmembers or bones. Such a pocket is formed by folding an elongated stripof material along lengthwise lines so as to form a threeply pockethaving a single-ply 36 designed to lie against the fabric of the body ofthe garment as, for example, the non-elastic back section 11, an outerply 37 and an intermediate ply 38. The bone 33 lies in a pocket formedbetween the intermediate ply 38 and the inner ply 36 so that there aretwo plies of material between the bone 33 and the body of the wearer,one of these being the ply 36 and the other the fabric of the section 11of the garment and also two plies 37 and 38 on the outside of the bones.Preferably the intermediate ply 38 includes one edge of the strip ofmaterial so that this edge 39 will be concealed below the outer ply 37.

The pocket is closed at its lower end, as shown in Fig. 8, by turningunder the edges of the three plies of material as at 40, and stitchingthem to the fabric of the section 11, as shown at 41. The upper end ofthe pocket is temporarily left open for the reception of the bone 33,and after it is received therein, the upper end is closed and a tape,for example, an elastic tape, 42 is sewed to the interior of the garmentat the upper edge thereof, the tape extending entirely around thecircumference of the garment. This tape 42 is shown in Fig. 9 where, asis also indicated, the upper edge of the fabric of the garment is foldedinwardly in the manner of a hem, as at 43, and the strip of tape 42 issewed over this inturned portion of the fabric of the garment. The loweredge of the garment is similarly finished.

It will be noted that with the construction shown in Fig. 9 the garmentpresents a smooth exterior appearance at the upper edge thereof as thetape 42 lies upon the inner surface.

As is usual, hose-supporting members are secured to the lower edge ofthe garment. Each of these members comprises a short length of elasticmaterial doubled as shown at 44 and 45 from which is suspended the loop46 of the hose supporter clasp. In order to enhance the appearance ofthis portion of the garment, a decorative ribbon of satin or the like 47is secured to the lower edge of the garment rearwardly or at the insidesurface of the elastic straps 44 and 45 and, as shown in Fig. 10, thismember is passed through the loop 46 to the front of the hose supporter,and its end depends freely over the hose supporter clasp to conceal thesame.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the detailsshown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit ofthe invention and within the scope of the claim.

What I claim is:

A girdle-type garment having a rear section and a front section ofsubstantially equal dimensions girthwise, said front section comprisinga central front panel of inelastic material and a pair of side panels ofelastic material, one on each side of the front panel, each of said sidepanels having its inner edge joined to the adjacent edge of the frontpanel and its outer edge joined to a side edge of the rear section toform a body-encircling garment, each of said side panels comprising aninner and an outer ply of elastic material, the outer ply extending fromthe upper to the lower edge of the garment and being coextensive withthe panel of which it forms a part, the inner ply extending from theupper to the lower edge of the garment at the edge of the panel joinedto the rear section of the garment and being shorter than the outer plyat its edge joined to the central panel of the front section, wherebythe upper edge of the inner ply slopes downwardly and the lower edge ofthe inner ply is inclined upwardly toward the central panel, and eachside panel has substantially triangular-shaped portions of single-plythickness at the upper and lower edges of the garment adjacent thejunction of the side panels with the central panel, and the inner plybeing secured by scam lines at all edges thereof to the outer ply.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,010,585 Duff Aug. 6, 1935 2,124,112 Kapinas July 19, 1938 2,338,193McMichael Jan. 4, 1944 2,366,026 Hawes Dec. 26, 1944 2,442,225 VersoyMay 25, 1948 2,608,688 Leonard Sept. 2, 1952 2,628,354 Laguzzi Feb. 17,1953 2,663,871 Erteszek Dec. 29, 1953 2,675,548 Leonard Apr. 20, 1954

